Pages

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Davide
Melini’s horror short, THE SWEET HAND OF THE WHITE ROSE, brings to attention the
avoidable tragic loss of life from irresponsible driving habits. Alcohol, relationship
problems, and cell phone distractions are the root of a tragedy that ends up feeling almost Shakespearean in nature. Normally it would be very difficult to sympathize with
the lead character, Mark (Carlos Bahos),
for letting such petty issues ruin two lives, but after watching him
desperately pray at an altar, Mark’s gut wrenching regret for something that
could’ve easily happened to anyone ends up being heartfelt.

Despite having a
sad story, the film starts off with a sexy and rockin’ start in a crowded bar with
tabletop dancers and a rock band with an appealing female vocalist. The club scenario
is the backdrop to the story’s setup, but it also gives Melini a chance to show some directorial diversity. The club is something
that may not have been essential, but it still gives the intro a nice pizazz
and is a neat contrast to the movie’s main theme.

Eventually, the loud music
decreases in volume and the sounds of chatter become more eminent as the
attention is taken off the band and onto Mark, sitting alone while smoking and
taking back a shot while looking troubled. Immediately it becomes apparent that
his disappointed girlfriend, Mary (Leocricia
Sabán), has tracked him down, and instead of explaining himself, Mark takes
the more dramatic approach of walking out on his upset girlfriend.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Succeeding in creating a good five minute film takes a
creative filmmaking prowess. The premise
and everything the viewer needs to know has to be made clear from the start, without
any kind of drawn-out setup. Also, because
every second is a significant fraction of the runtime, every second must
count. With THE PUZZLE, Italian filmmaker
Davide Melini makes a basic idea
interesting and creates a disturbing and fascinating movie with very little run
time.

The film’s pre-credit sequence is
spooky and well done; making use of creepy chants and whispers, in the vein of
SUSPIRIA, before a ringing phone sets the stage for the lead character’s
evening.

A mother (Cachito Noguera) quickly becomes disgruntled after receiving a call
from her son (Alessandro Fornari)
asking for money. Apparently she finds
her son’s reasons disagreeable and highly unsettling, and so, after hanging up,
she attempts to remedy her frustrations by sitting down to piece together a
jigsaw puzzle that ends up holding an unpleasant surprise.

The only spoken dialogue in the film is at
the beginning, with the events unfolding in a dialogue-free fashion with visuals,
sounds, and SILENT HILL-esque music driving the narrative. The piano-laden montages are the most
enjoyable parts for me, which are complete with rotating camera shots and brief
moments of black and white. These scenes
succeed in making the inclusion of piecing together this puzzle a bit more
profound. It immediately starts to
answer the question: How interesting can it be to watch someone put together a
puzzle?